Kodak announces new productivity-boosting CTP options for newspaper printers

Kodak has just announced enhancements to its automated thermal CTP portfolio for newspaper printers from the WAN-IFRA World Publishing Expo in Vienna, Austria (October 10 – 12). Since Kodak’s invention of thermal plate imaging technology 21 years ago, the company has shipped over 21,000 CTP units worldwide, of which over 2,500 are newspaper CTPs. These new options will give newspaper and other commercial printers more speed, efficiency and control in the platemaking process, said the OEM. “These newest enhancements to our CTP solutions are further evidence of Kodak’s faith in the future of newspaper and coldset web-offset printing,” said Brad Kruchten, President of Kodak’s Print Systems Division. “They enable our customers in the newspaper industry to adapt the productivity, efficiency and sustainability of their platemaking process to the demands of today’s markets.”

Among the upgrades, Kodak has introduced a 16% laser power improvement for both the Kodak Generation News and the Kodak Trendsetter News Platesetters, meaning newspaper printers can image more plates in a shorter time. The additional laser power means that the throughput of the Generation News Platesetter Z-speed version has increased from 258 to 277 Kodak Sonora News Process-Free Plates per hour, while the Trendsetter News Platesetter V-speed version is up from 116 to 129 plates. Kodak said that it intends to make this enhancement commercially available as a standard feature in the first quarter of 2017.
The new, ultra-high-speed imaging technology “W-Speed” is another optional addition to the Kodak Trendsetter News Platesetter, leading to “huge productivity leaps.” When used together with the Sonora Plate and the Autoloader option, it boosts the throughput of the Trendsetter News Platesetter from 150 to 240 plates per hour – or in the configuration with the Single-Cassette Unit (SCU), from 116 to 150 plates. Kodak also enables easy integration into existing plate lines with optional single or dual-plate rotation. The new “W-Speed” option will be released in the second quarter of 2017, said Kodak.
Kodak also recently announced a new Mobile CTP Control app specifically designed for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This app lets Kodak customers monitor multiple CTP systems conveniently and efficiently. Users can get immediate feedback on their platemaking process via the Internet anywhere in the world. The new Kodak Mobile CTP Control app will be commercially available early 2017, said the company.
Finally, to improve sustainability and resource conservation, the Kodak Trendsetter News Platesetter now features a new cooling system that improves power savings by an additional 30% compared to the initial design – down to as low as 770 watts while imaging. The platesetter also comes with a new, shorter unload table that reduces the footprint of the CTP configuration and enables more efficient use of existing floor space.